Nasdaq has agreed to provide the core technology to power a marketplace for trading bitcoins

A
man uses an umbrella to guard against snowfall as he walks past
the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, Midtown New YorkThomson Reuters

(Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc agreed to provide a
startup the core technology to power a marketplace for trading
bitcoins and related digital-currency assets, the Wall Street
Journal reported.

New York-based startup Noble Markets will use Nasdaq's X-stream
trading system, which is used by more than 30 exchanges and
marketplaces worldwide, the Journal reported, citing a joint
statement. Nasdaq will also provide marketing support.

Bitcoin payments processor Coinbase, backed by the New York Stock
Exchange, opened a regulated exchange in the United States for
trading the virtual currency earlier this year.

Launched in 2009, bitcoin lets people conduct transactions over
the Internet. The virtual currency has come under regulators'
scrutiny in the United States and Europe following a series of
high-profile scandals such as the bankruptcy of Tokyo-based
bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.